Charlie
by aliatheghoul
Summary: A sheltered woman living on a tiny farm in the wasteland feels unloved and out of place, and dreams of finding something better. When a ghoul merchant and his caravan come through town, her life changes in ways she would never have expected. Romance/Adventure. OC human female/OC ghoul male romance. Some foul language and sexually suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I stood in the field, weeds dangling loosely from my filthy, chafed hands. The sky was so beautiful today. It was about the only beautiful thing in the bedraggled and desolate wasteland around me. The sky was one of my favorite things to paint. I wondered briefly if painting it later would be worth the lecture I'd receive if caught.

"Cherry! Stop staring at the sky like a dumb brahmin and weed those tatos!"

I snapped my head away from the sky to Doris. Her wrinkled, leathery face scowled at mine through the tato trellises. I looked away, wiping my brow and tossing the weeds into a pile.

"Why do you talk to me like a child? I'm a grown woman. And I _am_ weeding," I said.

"Not nearly fast enough," Doris muttered, viciously pulling up a handful of weeds. "You need to pull your weight around here. Or have you forgotten that me 'n' Jake feed you and let you have a room of your own?"

"How could I forget? You remind me every chance you get. You don't like me. I get it. You don't need to insinuate it constantly," I replied.

"What did I tell you about using those book-words? You know I don't know what that means. And we can't hate you that much, can we? We haven't thrown you to the Yao Guai yet."

"That's only because you promised my parents that you would take care of me in the event that something happened to them. And it did. So here we are," I said, knowing that what I was saying was pointless. This wasn't the first time we'd had this argument.

"What do you want from me? I raised you the best I could," Doris protested.

"But you didn't love me. You didn't treat me like I was your own child. You treated me like a burden," I insisted.

Doris opened her mouth to reply, but stopped and looked up instead. An expression of delight filled her gaunt face.

"A caravan," she said.

I turned around and squinted at the figures on the dusty road in the distance. There were three people and a brahmin laden with packs. Definitely a caravan.

Doris brushed her dirty hands on her pants and hurried back to our house - to get her jars of tato salsa no doubt - along with whatever salvage Jake wanted to trade. I had nothing to sell, and only two caps to my name, so I stood where I was, watching the caravan come into view.

There were two guards with guns and leather armor, and one merchant. This was the typical formula. But there was something strange about the merchant's face. It was hard to see from here, and he was wearing a hat pulled down low, but his face looked... disfigured. Maybe from a fire, or a grenade, or-

"Cherry!" Jake yelled from the front step. "Get yer ass in the house! Now!"

Doris was usually the one to yell at me. Jake yelling at me must mean something serious. Maybe this caravan wasn't what it seemed. Maybe they were raiders in disguise. Or maybe Jake just wanted me to haul his garbage out to the merchant... Regardless, I ran to the house as he commanded. He grabbed me and pulled me inside, slamming the door behind us.

"What is it?" I asked.

He and Doris shushed me, hunkering low in the dimly-lit shack, peering out the window through a crack in the drapes. I looked out another of the chicken wire windows, feeling the hot wind blow through onto my face.

The caravan was approaching our little complex of buildings. There was definitely something wrong with the merchant's face. Scars and wrinkled skin ran across it, and he had practically no nose or lips. His ears appeared to be fused to his head. His arms bore the same scars, I observed.

"What happened to him, do you think?" I asked.

"He's a ghoul," Jake grunted.

"A ghoul? But..." I was very confused. I knew what ghouls were. Putrid, rotting creatures that looked like corpses and attacked on sight. We had dealt with them on several occasions. But this man couldn't be a ghoul. Ghouls were nearly naked, with humpbacks and spindly limbs. The merchant was walking upright, and even appeared to have defined muscles under his tight, plaid shirt. Ghouls didn't talk - they moaned and hissed. The merchant was talking to his guards. Ghouls would claw and bite at anything that moved. The merchant was leading their brahmin and patting it on its heads.

"I don't understand," I said. "He doesn't look like a normal ghoul. And he doesn't look violent."

"He's not a _feral_ ghoul," Doris hissed, "but he's a ghoul all the same."

"So there are ghouls that are more like us? I must be missing something here. Why are we hiding?"

"They _ain't_ like us," Jake insisted. "They're less than human. Disgusting, smelly muties."

"What do they do that's so terrible? Do they eat people or something?" I asked.

"Well, no. I don't think so," Jake muttered. "But it ain't what they _do_. It's what they _are_."

I looked at my caretakers, disgust rising into my throat. "So if he looked human, you would go out there and do business with him?"

"Of course," Doris said. "But do he look human to you?"

I looked out the window at the merchant. He was surveying our shacks in disappointment. I watched him lead his brahmin to our water trough for a drink. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ted's scrawny frame emerge from his shack. I felt disgusted again, but for a different reason. Ted was clutching a shotgun. He yelled at the caravan - "yer kind ain't welcome here!"

The guards and merchant turned around to look at Ted. The merchant's expression wasn't what I was expecting. It was worse. I thought he would look sad, or angry, or surprised. Instead, he had a looked of resigned acceptance, as though he were used to this sort of treatment. That look broke my heart.

"You guys are all assholes," I muttered. "I'm going out there."

Jake grabbed me by the arm. Hard. "And ruin our settlement's reputation? I don't think so."

"What reputation?" I asked incredulously.

"We don't want people thinking we like to fraternize with ghouls. And if you do business with them, they'll think it's okay to come back. Which it ain't."

I pulled away from Jake, my arm stinging. "You people make me sick." I turned to walk away, headed for my room. Jake moved in front of me.

"You best learn to respect us, and this farm. We're all you've got, and it's an unforgiving world out there. You wouldn't last a day out in the wastes, and all you do is complain about how good you've got it."

I stormed past him, walking into my room and slamming the door. I was furious. Furious because of the farm's prejudice toward a man that was apparently as human as anyone else on the inside, and furious because Jake was right. The farm was all I had - and almost all I could remember. I had very few memories of my parents or where we lived, but I remembered being happier. But I couldn't leave here or I would surely die. But staying meant putting up with my caretakers' ignorant ways, and the loathsome advances stupid, buck-toothed Ted.

I stayed in my room the rest of the evening. I didn't come out for dinner, and no one brought it to me. Several times I parted the drapes and peered out my chicken wire window, searching for the caravan party. I kept thinking about that poor merchant's expression. If he were truly human on the inside, he didn't deserve this treatment. He surely had it hard enough, looking the way he did, without being berated by a bunch of farmers when he was just trying to earn a living.

The caravan guards weren't put off by his appearance. One even patted him on the back after Ted yelled at them. There must be other settlements in the world that were more accepting. I hoped there were. And I dreamed about being in one. Some place far away from this hateful farm.

I didn't feel like painting anymore, so I flipped through the pages of my favorite book to pass the time. It was a pre-war, U.S. history book. It was water-damaged, and some of the pages were stuck together, but there was enough readable material and pictures for me to learn quite a bit about what the world was like before the bombs dropped. A few of the pictures were pretty enough to paint, too.

I was nodding off with the book in my lap, when I remembered I had laundry out on the line. I didn't need another thing on Doris' list of chores I screwed up, so I left my room to collect it. The rest of the house was dark, moonlight piercing through the gaps in the outer walls. I put on my jacket and boots and headed outside.

I crunched through the dead brush to the laundry pole. Some of the clothes had blown down, but they still looked clean. I began to pull the rest off the pole, when I noticed the faint orange glow of a campfire in the distance.

Who would be camping so close to our farm? Couldn't be raiders. They didn't like to be exposed. Would the caravan from earlier have hung around for the night? Nervousness and anticipation overwhelmed me. I felt such sorrow for that ghoul merchant. If I could just apologize to him…

I set my laundry down in its basket and started walking toward the campfire. The moonlight illuminated my path, but I was still careful not to step in any molerat holes. Ted's equally terrible brother, Gary, had stepped in such a hole and broke his leg. He died of infection. A doctor or a stimpak could have saved him, but there were none around at the time. I hadn't wished death on him, but I was glad he was gone.

I was nearing the campfire now, my farm looking like a miniature in the distance. I crept forward slowly, trying to make out shapes. I worried it wouldn't be them. I could only make out one of the shapes at this distance, but it was enough. It was the hulking, two-headed silhouette of a brahmin.

I strode up to the campfire. I saw the figures turn to face me.

"Who's there?"

I came into the light of the fire and looked into the ghoulish face of the seated merchant - shadows from the campfire making his face even more grotesque.

"My farm is full of ignorant assholes," I stated.

The guards looked surprised, but the merchant only smiled weakly and said in deep, gravelly voice, "it's all right. I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be."

"Maybe not kid, but there are a lot of things in the world that shouldn't be. They still are," he replied.

"Well, I'm sorry."

"Did you come all the way out here to apologize for your people?"

"Yes," I answered. "I felt really bad for earlier. They wouldn't even let me come out to talk to you. And they aren't my people. I'm not like them."

A smirk formed on the merchant's lipless face and he shook his head. "Shame such a liberal mind is wasted out here in Hicksville."

I sighed. "I tell myself that every day."

"And yet you're still here?" the merchant asked.

"I don't have a choice. I haven't had much experience fighting. I have no armor, no weapons. And I wouldn't even begin to know which way to go to find a better home. The only things I'm good at are farming and painting. And getting yelled at," I replied.

"Seems to me you're good at caring about others, despite how they look," the ghoul said.

"Well, as you said, that's squandered here." I opened my mouth to say goodbye, but the merchant said, "yes, it is. And so is that intelligence that I can clearly see. Most hicks don't talk like you."

"I use 'book-words,' as the farmers say. I don't think those people understand half of what I say."

"Have you heard of Diamond City?" the merchant asked.

"No."

"It's a big city, about a week away from here, with people that are closer to your caliber. They still don't like ghouls much, but it would be better than where you are now. I think you'd like it."

"I bet I would. I'll keep that in mind if I ever get out of this dump. Anyway, good luck in your travels. I hope the next settlement treats you guys better."

I turned to go. The ghoul stood up and said, "keep your chin up, kid. It'll get better."

I looked into his sad, blue, very human eyes and then gave him a hug. He stiffened and pulled away. "Hey now, none of that. What are you, fifteen? Sixteen?"

"I'm twenty-four," I replied. I paused and said, almost apologetically, " I just look young."

"Twenty-four? Damn. Well in that case, how about another hug for the poor old ghoul?"

"Ooh, Charlie's a player!" I heard one of the guards say.

I laughed and gave him another hug. _Smelly mutie, huh, Jake?_ I thought. _He smells better than you do._

He pulled back and looked at me. "It's one thing to be a kid and dream of running away from your parents' hillbilly farm, but to be a grown woman, still stuck here? Especially with your perception and intelligence? You've gotta get out of here before you end up like the other farmers. Or _with_ one of the other farmers. Please tell me that shirtless inbred that yelled at us earlier isn't your boyfriend."

"Ted?" I made a retching noise. "God, no."

"Good. You're coming with us, then. You don't have any objections, do you, boys?" the ghoul said, looking at the guards.

The brown-haired guard with a beard said, "no, Charlie. This place is a shithole. We can take her wherever she wants to go."

"Definitely," said the young blonde guard.

"Are you serious? Thank you so much! You don't know what this means to me!" I exclaimed, overjoyed.

"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea," the merchant said, looking back toward the farm.

"I'm Charlie, by the way," the ghoul said. He gestured to the bearded guard, "that's Dave."

"Hey," Dave said.

Charlie pointed to the other guard. "And that's Smiley."

"Welcome aboard, m'lady," Smiley said, bowing.

I smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Cherry."

"Like the Nuka-Cola flavor?" Dave asked.

"No," Charlie replied, rolling his eyes. "Like the fruit."

"What fruit?" Dave asked.

"Oh yeah," Charlie said, removing his hat to reveal a scarred, bald head. "I forgot you guys aren't old enough to remember when cherries still existed. They were bright red and grew on trees. Tasted a lot better than the abominations we call fruit now."

Smiley pointed to me as I sat down on a log next to Charlie. "So she's a cherry. What does that make you, Charlie? A mutfruit?"

They all laughed. "Yep, pretty much," Charlie said. "Ugly, and twisted by radiation."

"But sweet on the inside?" I ventured.

"You're a flirty one, ain't ya? Oh, but you don't need to humor an old ghoul like me. I know I'm hideous."

"Your appearance doesn't bother me," I said, and I meant it.

"Well, you're sweet. But I think living on this farm has messed up your head a little. We gotta get you out of here. You think your old man will come looking for you? Should we move on?"

"He's not my old man, and no, I don't think anyone will. Let them assume I got dragged away by raiders. It's what they want anyway," I said.

"I hope you don't need anything from your house. You might run the risk of getting caught, and I don't want those hicks coming after us."

"No, I don't need anything," I lied, thinking of my brushes and paints.

"All right then," Charlie said, pushing dirt onto the fire with his boot. "Let's bed down for the night. Cherry, we don't have any extra sleeping bags, so you take mine tonight."

"What? No, I couldn't do that. I'll be fine sleeping on the ground."

"She can sleep in mine with me," Smiley said, wiggling his eyebrows and grinning. "I don't mind sharing."

"That's enough outta you," Charlie said, pointing his hat at him. "Don't mind him. He's got a big mouth, but he's harmless." He pulled a sleeping bag over to me. "Please, take it. I have blankets I can use instead."

"Okay," I said, smoothing out the sleeping bag on the ground.

"Offer still stands," Smiley said, laying in a seductive position and patting his sleeping bag.

"Shut up, Smiley," Dave said. "Can't you see she already has the hots for Charlie?"

"Both of you shut up. You're going to annoy her so bad she'll go running back to the farm," Charlie said, removing his boots and jacket and laying some blankets out on the ground.

"Fat chance of that," I said, removing my own boots and sliding into Charlie's sleeping bag. It had the same smell as Charlie. It was an earthy, herbal smell. I liked it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I woke early, just as the sun was sliding up over the hills. The sky was a blazing pink, tinged with orange.

"Beautiful," I said to myself. "Wish I had my paints."

"You like to paint?" It was Dave, admiring the sunrise as well.

"Yes, and I only paint beautiful things," I stated. "Makes the world a little more bearable to look at."

"You do a lot of self-portraits, then?" I heard a gravelly voice ask.

My stomach suddenly felt full of bloatflies. I turned around. Charlie was smiling at me. I could feel my face flush at his compliment.

"No, mostly things like the sky, or flowers," I replied.

Charlie nodded, seemingly impressed, and went back to loading packs onto the brahmin.

Dave was eyeing me with a hint of a smile on his face. "You _do_ have the hots for him, don't you?"

"I...maybe. I don't know. This has all happened so fast. I'm confused," I whispered.

"I wouldn't expect a girl like you to be interested in someone like Charlie, but he's a good guy. Just know that Charlie is a travelling merchant because he doesn't want to get close to people anymore. I think some bad stuff happened to him in the past, and he's afraid of getting hurt again. So I wouldn't expect anything serious from him. But between you and me, the guy definitely needs to get laid."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Dave.

"Just laying out there for ya, hun," Dave said, crossing his arms.

Smiley strolled over to us with two tin cups in his hand.

"Coffee?" he asked, handing us each a cup. When we thanked him, he leaned in, "you guys sharing secrets? You can tell me. I can keep a secret."

Dave laughed. "You most certainly cannot. Do you know why they call him Smiley?"

"No," I said.

"Because if he's smiling, he's either telling secrets, or lies."

"That's not true," Smiley said, grinning.

"See? A lie," Dave said, laughing and walking away.

I sat next to the dying fire, drinking my coffee. Dave was rolling up sleeping bags, and Smiley was arranging sweet rolls on a plate. He offered me one.

"Thank you," I said, my stomach rumbling.

Charlie was rummaging through the packs on the brahmin with an irritated expression. I turned and looked back toward my farm as I devoured my sweet roll. Would they wonder what happened to me? Would they think I was grabbed in the night as I took down the laundry? Would they even care? The only one that might go hunting for me would be Ted, but that's only because he wanted me as a trophy. I bet Doris and Jake would feel relief more than anything. Good riddance to them all.

I heard boots crunching on the brush in my direction. I looked up. It was Charlie. He was holding something in his scarred hands.

"I, uh, don't have any paints, but do you draw?"

"Oh, yes, I do. Sometimes," I said.

"Well, I found some pencils and a notebook I thought you might like. We see all sorts of things on our travels, and you might find some that are beautiful enough draw."

I smiled. "Thank you. I'm sure I will."

We followed the cracked and sometimes trash-littered road for quite some time. I kept waiting to see something new, but I was starting to think this brown, blasted wasteland would go on forever.

"Having second thoughts?" Charlie asked.

"No," I said.

"Good. You're better off without them. I think a place like Diamond City will do you a world of good. Help you lose a little naivete."

"I admit, I am pretty naive when it comes to the outside world. I was just wondering if the whole world looks like this," I said.

"No, it doesn't. I can't guarantee that it will be any less ugly, but it will at least be different," Charlie said.

"I bet you guys have some amazing stories about all the things you've seen and done out in the wastes," I said.

"Like the Deathclaw nest we found?" Smiley asked. "Or that city full of nothing but hay-wire Mr. Handys? Oh! Or that guy that was throwing rocks and making explosion sounds like they were grenades? And then he pretended to get on a motorcycle and drive away? That was hilarious."

Dave and Charlie laughed.

"Wow," I said. "I wish I had even a fraction of the experience that you guys have."

"Give it time. You're a little late to the party, but it ain't over yet," Charlie said.

Several days passed. The monotony of the travel began to wear on me. Endless bleak landscape. Tiny settlement. More bleak landscape. Sleep. Repeat. It _did_ give me time to explore my feelings for Charlie, however. I still wasn't quite sure what was going on with me, but I was pretty convinced that I had a crush on him. I had thought about it for a while, and decided that it must be because he seemed like such a sweet, sensitive, misunderstood soul that I couldn't help but want to show him some love. But was that attraction, or just pity? And was that really all of it? Maybe I just wanted to do the biggest 'fuck-you' thing I could possibly think of to my farm, even if they never found out. In any case, I didn't think it was just because I was twenty-four years old and hadn't had any sexual or romantic relationships yet. By that logic, I could have gone after Smiley, or Dave. Although I was starting to get the impression that Dave wasn't into women all that much.

On the third day we crested a hill and stood at the top for a moment, absorbing the view. There were stands of scraggly, blasted trees, clustered together in certain areas. RVs and cars lay in the road at the base of the hill - some of them looked like they had collided with each other before being abandoned for good. A road wound away from the wreckage to a large paved area surrounded by trees. On the pavement, in between the trees, there appeared to be tents of some sort, in colors that were glaringly bright compared to their muted surroundings.

"What is that?" Smiley asked, looking toward the tents.

"Looks like some sort of RV park," Charlie replied. "Where people would vacation before the war."

"Why would anyone want to vacation there?" Dave wondered.

"Well, I'm sure the landscape has changed some since then. It was probably nice, back in the day. What I can't figure is what I'm looking at down there. What those colored things are."

"I was wondering that too. They look like tents, but they're so bright," I said. "They look new."

Dave looked at Charlie, hand on his gun. "Do you want to check it out?"

"Well, we have to go that way anyway, and skirting around all those cars is going to lead us right into them. I don't think we have much of a choice."

"Do you think that's intentional?" Dave asked.

"What, like a trap?" Smiley said.

"Those cars look like they've been there a long time," I commented.

"True," Charlie said. "But maybe we should be extra cautious. You guys go up ahead a little. Cherry and I will hang back with BettyandBertha."

We headed down the hill, Charlie and I keeping pace behind Dave and Smiley.

"You always need to be aware of your surroundings. It's a big wasteland and we've seen some pretty crazy shit, as you know. Those tents might be filled with nothing but skeletons, or they might be crawling with raiders or ferals."

I eyed the tents warily as we walked down the hill. Dave and Smiley put more distance between us, their guns drawn. They reached the barrier of cars, peering into the broken windows and back seats. If there was anyone in those cars, they were long dead, it seemed. The guards disappeared into the tree line as we reached the foot of the hill. I could see human bones inside some of the vehicles.

 _They probably tried to get out of this place in a hurry when the bombs hit_ , I thought. I looked to the tents set back into the RV park. I could see now that the fabric of the tents was as old as anything else in this world, but it had been decorated with bright streaks of paint. Then I saw movement through the trees.

"Charlie, I saw something," I said, moving closer to him.

"I saw it too, but I don't hear any gunshots," he replied, but pulled out his gun just the same. After a few moments, Dave and Smiley emerged from the trees. They looked relieved, if slightly puzzled.

"What is it?" Charlie asked.

"It's...a settlement," Smiley replied. "There's people - kids. And they seem pleased as can be that we're here."

We followed Dave and Smiley through the trees, toward the tents. A small child stood in the path ahead of us. His face and little belly were smeared with dirt, and his blonde curls shone in the sun. Snot ran down his face. He sneezed, and then ran away.

"Is this normal? Settlements in tents?" I asked.

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. I've seen tents _in_ settlements. But there are usually houses to go along with them."

Our group passed the outer tents. Many had people in them. They smiled, or said "welcome" as we walked by. A few were pulling items out, possibly to trade. There was a woman on the path ahead. She had long gray hair, but her face looked rather youthful - unlike Doris' wrinkled, waste-blasted mug. She wore a flowy green dress, and beaded necklaces hung from her neck. We approached her, and she said, "welcome to Whitebird."

"What is this place?" I asked.

"We are a nomadic people, and we make our home wherever we see fit. We thought this campsite would do fine for a while."

"Aren't you worried all these bright colors will attract the wrong kind of attention?" Charlie asked.

"All of our men, and some of our women, are skilled hunters. So we have little need to fear attacks. Our scouts saw your group coming from miles off," she answered, still with that happy, welcoming expression.

Dave and Smiley gave each other a wary glance.

"Can't be too careful out here, you know. Oh, but we're a peaceful group, mostly. We don't like to stir up violence. Our philosophy is to try to live in harmony with the world around us, instead of causing more chaos and destruction."

"So you're hippies?" Charlie ventured.

"Hippies! Yes! I've heard that term before. Peace, love, and harmony for us," the woman said, clasping her hands together.

Charlie had a hairless eyebrow raised in skepticism, then shrugged and said, "well, do you think your people want to do some trading?"

"Oh, I'm sure they do," the woman said. "By the way, I'm Flower." She extended her hand to Charlie.

Charlie looked at her hand doubtfully. "You want to shake my hand?"

"That's what people do when they greet each other, is it not?"

"Yes, but most people recoil from the touch of a ghoul."

"Oh, all are welcome here. If you were a reasonable Deathclaw, I would shake your hand as well."

Charlie laughed and shook her hand. "Don't suppose you've ever met one."  
"Not yet," Flower said, smiling.

"I'm Charlie."

"Good to meet you, Charlie. I'm going to let you get to trading now. I'll send someone out with refreshments. I'm sure you're thirsty from your travels," Flower replied. She pushed past the cluster of people that had formed around us.

"Refreshments?" Dave said, his eyebrows raised.

The people began to form a line, holding their wares and trying to glimpse the contents of the bags on BettyandBertha.

Charlie accepted a variety of objects from the denizens of Whitebird: beads and buttons made of bone, sweet-smelling soaps, leather shoes, knives, wooden toys, and the usual wasteland salvage. In return, he traded Rad-X, Nuka-Cola, cigarettes, teddy bears, pre-war clothing, and caps.

A little girl in braids and a tattered dress pushed past the line of people, holding a tray of drinks in her hands. The drinks were a creamy brown, in scratched glasses decorated with mustard yellow polkadots.

"What's this?" I asked the girl, bending down to take a glass.

"Dandelion!" the girl said.

I frowned and looked in the cup.

"It's good," the girl said. "You don't like dandelion?" She looked disappointed.

"I don't know. I've never had it," I said. I brought the drink to my lips. "Did you make this?"

The girl grinned and shook her head.

I took a drink. It was sweeter than I expected, and sort of tasted like cold coffee.

"It _is_ good," I said. "You want some?"

"I already had mine," the girl stated. "Plus some medicine because my throat hurts. But these drinks are for your friends."

I handed the rest of the glasses to the caravaners. The girl put the tray under her arm and said, "I like your brahmin. If she's thirsty, there's a trough over there." She pointed.

"Thanks."

"You can put your glasses by the trough too. We'll wash them later," the girl said.

"Okay. Thanks for the drinks," I said.

The girl smiled again, but it was strange, like I had said something foolish. Then she turned and ran down the path. I watched her for a moment, trying to shake off the weird vibe I had. The line of people had petered out, and our group was alone on the path, save for a couple of people still admiring their newly-traded goods.

Charlie was sipping his drink and sorting through his own new items.

"Cherry, look at this," he said.

He was showing me some of the buttons he had traded for, but my mind was wandering. Was it wrong to have a crush on a ghoul? After all, he was a man on the inside. He surely had the same feelings and desires as other men. I really wanted to help him express those. Did he feel the same way? And how long had I been standing here? I snapped myself out of my fantasy. Charlie was still talking about the buttons in his hand.

"Look at them. Aren't they shiny?"

The buttons _were_ shiny. _Really_ shiny. The sun danced off of them in Charlie's hand. I scooted closer.

"Charlie?"

"Yeah?"

"You smell nice," I muttered, watching the light glint off the buttons.

Charlie looked up at me slowly, something like shock growing on his face.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," I said. _What is wrong with me? Why the hell did I say that out loud?_

"Cherry - your _hair_ ," Charlie said.

"What?"

"Your _hair_ is shiny too! ...Can I touch it?"

"Are you okay?" I asked, wondering if _I_ was okay. I didn't feel right.

I heard a clatter and looked down. Charlie had dropped the buttons. They lay on the ground, sparkling like precious jewels.

"You dropped the buttons," I said as Charlie stroked my long black hair.

He looked down, staring at the ground for a moment. His hand slipped out of my hair, and then he sat down and began to collect the scattered buttons.

I felt like I was in a dream. "Something is wrong with us. We should get out of here."

"Okay. Just let me get the buttons," Charlie said.

"Forget them," I said, looking around and trying my hardest to concentrate. Where were Dave and Smiley? I noticed that little girl in the path again. She was just standing there, staring at us, with that same horrible smile on her face.

"Let's go," I said, tugging on Charlie's shirt. I felt so tired. Maybe if I just sat down for a moment… I slumped down next to Charlie. What was I saying? I picked up one of the buttons and placed it in his hand. I closed my eyes and felt the sun warm my face…

I opened my eyes. I was staring at a button. It was small, and green, and attached to Charlie's shirt. I watched it rise and fall with Charlie's breathing. My head was rising and falling too. I was laying on Charlie's chest, I realized. Why was I laying on Charlie? It was something I wished I could enjoy, but I was too thoroughly confused. What happened?

I sat up, my head throbbing. We were in a tent, lying on a sleeping bag. Evening light was pouring through the tent flap. I noticed that Charlie's hand was resting on my thigh.

"You look nice today."

I looked at Charlie. He was pointing at the top of the tent. I looked up. In bright red letters, "YOU LOOK NICE TODAY!," was painted on the canvas of the tent.

"What the fuck?" I uttered.

"My thoughts exactly," Charlie said. He pulled his hand away from my leg suddenly and sat up. "Uh, sorry."

"I don't mind," I replied.

Charlie swallowed. "Heh, well… I think we should figure out what the hell is going on."

Charlie stood up and then tentatively held out a hand for me. I took it without hesitation and he pulled me up. We walked out of the tent, and our faces dropped.

"What in the name of Atom…" Charlie breathed.

There was nothing. No one. The tents were gone and so were all the people. We were alone, in an empty RV park. We slowly looked around.

"Where is everyone? Where are Dave and Smiley?" I said.

"Cherry, what do you remember?"

I thought hard. What were we doing before this? I remembered that woman, Flower, welcoming us to the camp. And Charlie was trading with the locals.

"Not much. You were trading, and-" I was turning in circle, looking around, when I saw a big pink shape in a cluster of trees.

"Hey! BettyandBertha is still here!" I ran over to see her, but stepped on something on the pavement. I stopped and picked it up. It was a button made of bone. It shone in the evening light. My eyes grew wide. I turned around.

"The buttons, Charlie. Remember?"

"The what?"

I grabbed Charlie's hand. He tried to pull away, but I held firm, planting the button into his calloused palm.

He looked at the button, realization dawning on his face.

"We started feeling weird…"

"It had to be those drinks! That little girl with the creepy smile gave us those dandelion drinks, remember? Is dandelion poisonous?" I asked.

"No. Those hippies drugged us," Charlie said grimly. "And Dave and Smiley aren't here. I pay them to protect me, and my goods, and if they're not here, it means they're gone against their will. They had those drinks too, didn't they?"

I lowered my eyes. "Yes. I gave it to them."

"You didn't know any better. If anything, this is my fault for not being more cautious," Charlie said, walking over to his brahmin.

"Why didn't they take us?" I asked. "And why leave BettyandBertha?"

"I don't know." Charlie sighed and rubbed his face. He started to rummage through BettyandBertha's packs.

I watched him. "Everything still there?"

"Yeah, except my guns."

I thought for a moment. "So, these people are super friendly, and then drug us and capture our guards. But leave you and I, with our pack brahmin and all our supplies. And no guns. So, they left us the brahmin and supplies so we can go on our merry way. But they don't want us to come after them so they took away your guns."

"That seems to sum it up," Charlie said.

"I don't get it."

"Me either. And if my guards were just some random mercs, I would do exactly what they want us to do. Go on my merry way. Guards know there is a risk involved when they're hired on. They know they might be killed. That's why they're paid so well. But I've know Dave and Smiley for quite a while now, and they're about the only friends I have in this godforsaken wasteland. Uh, aside from you, of course. I have to find them - if they're still alive," Charlie said.

"Then let's go," I said, untying BettyandBertha.

"Leave her be," Charlie said.

"Why?"

"She'll just slow us down. If we want to get to Dave and Smiley before something happens to them - if it hasn't already, we need to leave her. She'll be fine tied up here. There's a trough of water, and plenty of brush in this area for her to eat. She's concealed by trees too, so with any luck, predators won't find her. And even if they do, I'd much rather replace my brahmin than my two favorite guards. No offense, girl," Charlie said, patting the brahmin's heads.

We pulled the packs off of BettyandBertha and kept one for each of us, filling them with only what we thought was necessary. They had taken Charlie's guns and ammo, but had left the hunting knives and medical supplies.

There weren't any tracks to follow on the pavement of the RV park, but fresh brahmin droppings (that weren't BettyandBertha's), pointed us in the right direction. Once the pavement turned to dirt, it was easy to spot the tracks of the mass exodus of Whitebird. We headed west across the wastes.

I glanced over at Charlie every so often. Each time I looked at him, his expression seemed to be more grim. Finally, he said, "I think I know what's going on. But I'm not sure you're ready to hear it."

"I may never have been out in the world before a couple of days ago, but I know what it's like, and I know it's not going to coddle me. So just tell me," I replied.

Charlie took a breath. "Cannibals."

I paused. "What's a cannibal?"

Charlie looked at me, frowning. "They eat people."

I stopped. It took a moment to process.

"Oh God…"

"Yeah."

"But, they were so _nice_."

"Yeah," Charlie agreed. "And the screwed up thing is I think their hospitality was genuine. I think they really believe in all that peace and love bullshit that woman was talking about. They just happen to have an appetite for human flesh too. That's why they didn't take me and you."

"Why wouldn't they take us?" I asked as we resumed our pace.

"Look at me," Charlie said. "Do _I_ look appetizing?"

I opened my mouth and Charlie said, "don't answer that. I know what you'd say." There was a slight smirk on his face.

I smiled back, then said, "okay, but what about me? I'm not good enough to eat?:"

"No. For one thing, you're small. And cannibals probably want big people that have a lot of muscle. If they cooked you, there would be nothing left but bones and fat."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Charlie.

"Uh, not that there's anything wrong with your figure. I happen to like it- er, what I mean is-" Charlie's face began to grow a bright shade of pink. "You'd be bad for cooking up and eating, okay?"

I giggled. "Okay. I get it. Not good news for Dave and Smiley though."

"No," Charlie agreed. "We just need to pray they're not planning a feast tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Despite being unconscious for who knows how many hours while the Whitebird exodus was taking place, we reached the camp in a shorter time than anticipated, as there was just the two of us, and Whitebird had brahmin, children, elderly folks, all their tents, and - I hoped - two caravan guards that were trying to break free at this moment. I tried not to think about what would happen if we found out they'd already been eaten. I'd only known them a couple of days, but they felt more like family to me than my own caretakers ever had. This was also assuming Charlie was right about them being cannibals.

We were on a hill, overlooking the camp, laying on our stomachs in the brush. It was early morning at this point, and the black sky was taking on a navy glow. There wasn't any activity down in the camp, but several campfires were burning.

"Okay," Charlie said, pulling out his knife. "Should we try to sneak in and look for them?"

"And lift every tent flap to see if they are in there? That's definitely going to cause suspicion."

"Well, we can't just run in and slit everyone's throats. I don't think I have the skill to do that anyway. Plus, there are children in there," Charlie said. "Everyone is probably asleep, anyway, and won't notice us sneaking in."

"But what if they aren't? Then we _would_ have to start killing people. And, I actually have an idea that I think is better," I said. "You don't think their camp is really full of skilled hunters and scouts, do you?"

"No. It seems like their camp's main skill is deception," Charlie muttered.

"Uh-huh. So I was thinking, _we_ deceive _them_."

"How?"

"Well, first off, they really do seems like peace-loving people, and if they mainly trick people into becoming their dinner, they probably don't know how to fight very well-"

"Neither do we," Charlie said.

"Right, but what I'm getting at is they probably aren't going to just shoot us in the face if we stroll into camp," I said.

" _'Stroll into camp_?' And then what? Ask them for Dave and Smiley?" Charlie said sarcastically.

"Yes," I said.

"Why would they give them up?"

"Because I'm going to bullshit the hell out of them."

Charlie stared at me. "What?"

"I can do it. I've been mulling this over for the past few hours, and I'm sure it will work. But we need to bring all of the Rad Away we have," I said.

Charlie shook his head. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, and your willingness to help me save Dave and Smiley, but I think we should do this my way. No offense, but I've been around a lot longer than you, and I've learned you can't reason with weirdos like these."

"I'm not going to reason with them. I going to cause a panic," I said.

Charlie shook his head again. "Maybe you should stay up here, and I'll just-"

"Look, I know I'm sheltered and inexperienced, but I'm pretty damn good at daydreaming and coming up with stories. I used to play them out in my head all the time to escape the awful life I had. I'm going to be so convincing, they'll _want_ to let Dave and Smiley go. Everything I'm going to tell them could possibly be true anyway. I'm going to walk down that hill and do it whether you're coming or not."

Charlie looked at me for a moment. His face was unreadable. Then he sighed and picked up his pack.

We started walking down the hill. I was rehearsing my story in my head and hoping to Atom this was going to work. "Just play along, okay?"

"I hope you know what you're doing. I'm going to have my knife ready just in case things go south," he said.

I didn't think they would. I hope they wouldn't. I wanted to prove to Charlie that I could be good at something too.

We marched into camp with pissed looks on our faces. That wasn't hard to fake. No one was out, so we stood in the center of the tents and I shouted, "I want to talk to Flower!"

I heard rusting, and people began to poke their heads out of the tent flaps. One of the tents opened, and Flower emerged. The look on her face was priceless. Gone was the sweet, welcoming smile of the day before. It was replaced by horror. She quickly tried to mask it.

"Well, Charlie, and... what was your name, dear?" Flower said.

"Cut the shit," I said. "Give us our friends."

"How would I know where they are?" Flower asked sweetly.

"Don't play stupid," Charlie seethed. "We know you plan on eating them."

"We what?" Flower asked, laughing. "That's disgusting. And your friends aren't here, so I suggest you leave."

"Remember that big overturned truck in the middle of all those cars in the road back at the RV park?" I asked.

"Yes, I think so, but what does that-"

"Do you know what was in it?"

"No, but-"

"Nuclear waste. My Geiger counter was off the scale when I was next to it. I had to use two Rad Aways. I don't suppose you checked that place with a Geiger counter?"

"No..."

"Your whole camp has been exposed. That shit drifts with the wind, you know. Are any of your people feeling sick?"

Flower looked around at the people that were gathering. "I- I don't know."

" _I'm_ sick," said a little boy, coughing. "My head hurts."

The people started muttering and looking around. Flower looked afraid.

"I can't believe you people camped there without checking out the area first. Do you want your people to die? Or worse, look like Charlie?" I asked, feeling a bit bad about that last part.

"I don't want to be a ghoul!" someone exclaimed.

"Tell you what," Charlie said with a smirk, "you give us our friends, and I'll give you all the Rad Away I have so you can cure your people before they look like me."

"This is ridiculous. Leave. Now," Flower said, looking angry.

"But what if we _have_ been exposed?" a woman asked. "I don't have any Rad Away."

"Me either!"

"Please, Flower!"

People were gathering closer, some of them tugging on Flower's dress.

Flower looked exasperated. "Can we _buy_ the Rad Away from you?"

"And then let you eat our friends? I don't think so," Charlie growled.

"Well, what's to stop us from just taking the Rad Away from you?"

I hesitated, and then a man spoke up. "We can't do that! What are we, raiders?"

 _No, you're just kidnappers and cannibals. And that's_ so _much better_ , I thought.

"Come on, Flower! Just give them their friends!" someone shouted.

"But this is a lie!" Flower said. "I don't feel sick!"

"I do!" a woman said. "My head is hurting me too. And my throat is sore. I don't want to die!" she wailed.

"This is all a lie!" Flower shouted. "They're trying to deceive you!"

"I don't want to take a chance," a man said, marching up to us. "Their friends might be tainted, anyway. Give me all the Rad Away and you can get your friends."

"Here," Charlie said, pulling a handful of Rad Away pouches from his pack. I pulled more from my own.

"Your friends are in the tent with the green spirals on it," the man said, taking the Rad Away.

"No!" Flower shouted. She tried to take the Rad Away from the man, but he shoved her back. He handed a Rad Away to the woman that said she was sick, and then to the little boy. Then other people starting raising their hands, saying they needed one too. We shoved past them to the tent with the green spirals. Charlie pulled up the flap. Smiley and Dave sat back to back, cross-legged and tied together, gags in their mouths. I saw fear in their eyes when we walked in, then relief. Charlie bent down and used his knife to cut them free.

"Thank God it's you," Dave breathed. "They were going to eat us."

"We know," Charlie said. "Let's get out of here."

We hurried out of the tent and away from the camp. Smiley looked back over his shoulder and said, "What are they doing?"

"Fighting over Rad Away."

"Why?"

"Because Cherry bullshit the hell out of them," Charlie said, grinning at me.

We made camp back at the RV park. We were absolutely exhausted (except for Charlie - his endurance never seemed to run out.) We wanted to stop sooner, but Dave and Smiley didn't want to run the risk of the people of Whitebird coming after us. We figured we scared them away from that RV park for good, so it was safe to stay there and rest. BettyandBertha was okay, still tied to her tree. She hadn't seemed to care all that we were back.

I was beyond tired, and everyone else was asleep, but the high from our rescue hadn't worn off yet. Dave and Smiley hadn't wanted to talk about what happened to them, but they asked to hear me and Charlie's story about three times. Charlie told them it was all my idea, and they were very impressed. Especially Smiley.

I sat on a warped wooden bench, fiddling with the handle on a metal grill that was planted in the ground. I thought some meat on that grill sounded delicious, but then I thought of Dave and Smiley being taken to slaughter and I changed my mind.

I heard footsteps and saw Charlie walking over. He sat on the bench next me, scooting tantalizingly close.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

"No. Not yet. You?"

"No. I was thinking about that story you concocted. You knew the people of that camp were already sick before you made up that story, huh?"

I smiled. "Yeah. But I don't think it's radiation poisoning. I think they just have colds." I looked up through the trees. It wasn't quite dark yet, but a few stars peeked out here and there.

"But the fact that you saw that, and remembered it, and weaved it into this convincing lie... I'm sorry I didn't want to go along with your plan. It ended up being brilliant. If we did what I wanted to do, we probably would have gotten killed. I'm sorry I doubted you. It won't happen again," Charlie said.

"Well, hopefully we won't get into another situation where we have to bullshit our way out. And if we do, Dave and Smiley need to be fired," I laughed.

"Agreed."

We sat in silence for a moment. Finally, I said, "I'm so tired of being treated like a child."

Charlie frowned. "I wasn't trying to treat you like one."

"I know. I just mean because I was stuck on that farm almost my whole life, sheltered, naive, inexperienced - whatever you want to call it - and with caretakers that treated me like a kid. I feel like everyone is more 'adult' than I am. I feel out of place," I said.

"I don't want you to feel out of place with us," Charlie said. "And I don't think you're a child. Well, no more than anyone else. I'm old, so everyone is a baby to me. But I see you as you are - a grown woman, intelligent, _very_ perceptive, and fully capable of doing whatever you want to do. You just need to experience the world more. In a nice safe setting like Diamond City, not being drugged by cannibals."

I laughed. "...Well, I guess I should try to get some sleep now."

"Yeah, me too." Charlie looked at me hesitantly and then held out his arm for a hug. I embraced him, and it felt like the world had melted away. There was nothing else. There didn't need to be anything else. All I needed to survive were Charlie's strong, comforting arms around me. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and breathed in the scent of his tobacco, that earthy herb scent I had come to associate with him. I felt Charlie touch my hair, running his hand down the length of it. We sat on the bench, just holding each other, for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Charlie pulled back. He smiled at me.

"Good night, Cherry."

"Good night," I said. It was a long time before I fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

"Cherry, wake up."

"Cherry, wake up."

"Cherry-"

I opened my eyes and squinted.

"Smiley? What's going on? Is it the cannibals?"

"No, silly. I just want to show you something cool," Smiley said.

"Oh. Okay." I started to slide out of my sleeping bag, then realized I wasn't wearing my shirt or pants. It had been hot, and I'd taken them off.

Smiley was standing over me expectantly.

"Um, do you mind?"

"Not at all," Smiley grinned.

"Smiley…"

"Okay, okay." Smiley turned around and folded his arms as I put on my shirt and pants. I pulled on my boots and stood up.

"So, what is this thing you want to show me?" I asked, walking with him. I glanced over at Dave and Charlie who appeared to still be asleep.

"It's a surprise. It's just this way."

I followed Smiley along the paved path, toward the edge of the RV park.

"You know, I still can't get over that stunt you pulled to rescue us. That was amazing. I thought _I_ was a good liar, but you put me to shame. Wish I could have been there. Well, I was there, but I mean I wish I could have seen it, not being stuck in a tent, waiting to be those creeps' dinner."

"How are you feeling, by the way?" I asked. "Mentally, I mean. I'm still trying to process everything that happened, and I wasn't even the one that was kidnapped."

"Oh, I'm fine," Smiley said. "It was scary, sure, but we made it out okay, and that's what matters. And now I've got one more crazy story under my belt. And you do too."

"My first one. I'm not so sure if I want anymore like that thought," I replied.

"Oh, shh, shh, we're here. Take a look," Smiley said.

We had reached the edge of trees. I looked out into the distance. A large group of Radstags were grazing not far away. There was a big stag, who seemed to have a green tinge to his fur, and bailing twine and other bits of trash hung from his antlers. There were a few does, and some calves. The calves even looked kind of cute.

"Wow. That's pretty neat," I whispered. "I've seen Radstags before, but never a whole group of them."

Smiley nodded, grinning at me. "I knew you'd like it. There's so much empty, destroyed wasteland out there, it's nice when you find something like this."

We stood watching the 'Stags for a few minutes.

"This world is pretty bleak and depressing, huh?"

"Yeah, it is," I agreed.

"You have to enjoy the good things you get before they're gone, y'know? Unfortunately, even the creature comforts suck out here. The food sucks. The beds suck..."

Smiley scooted closer, looking at me. "What I'm getting at, Cherry, is there's pretty much only one creature comfort to enjoy on this trek. I need it, and I'm guessing you do too..." He leaned in to kiss me, and I turned my head.

"Ugh! No, Smiley." I backed up.

"What? Why not? We're both adults, with urges. It's natural. Don't tell me you don't find me attractive."

I sighed. "It's not that. You're very good-looking, actually. It's just... I'm interested in someone else."

Smiley frowned. "You mean _Dave_? Oh, uh, look, there's something you should know about Dave-"

"No, not Dave," I said, rolling my eyes and walking away.

Smiley jogged in front of me, walking backwards. "I get it. It would be your first time, right? You're shy? It's cool. I understand. We can just fool around bit, or-"

He was starting to piss me off. "Knock it off, Smiley. I'm sorry, but I'm just not interested. So I hope you haven't broken up with your hand yet."

Smiley stopped, but I kept walking. "Aw, man, Cherry. Come on..."

I looked back to see him swear and punch a tree. I shook my head, disgusted. I walked back toward camp as briskly as I could. Charlie was sitting on a bench with his head down, a cup of coffee in his hands. He looked up as I walked near.

"Where'd you disappear to?" Charlie asked. There was an edge to his voice.

I really didn't feel like telling my crush that his friend was trying to get into my pants, so I just said, "Smiley wanted to show me something."

" _Did_ he now?" Charlie muttered.

I stopped. "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy," Charlie replied. He threw his coffee out on the ground and hopped off the bench. "Let's get going."

Dave walked up. "What's the matter with him?"

"I don't know," I muttered.

Dave squinted at me. "What's wrong with _you_?"

I heard Smiley swear again from between the trees.

"I leave to take a leak and miss everything," Dave said.

No one talked much after that. We made our journey in silence, Smiley pouting, and Dave thumbing through a Guns and Bullets mag. And Charlie, well, he looked like someone shot his dog. What happened? I thought about our embrace the night before. Everything had been fine - wonderful, actually. And then this morning... Was it because I had left with Smiley? Did he think there was something going on between us? That was the last thing I wanted him to think. I would have to clear it up. But not now. Not with Dave and Smiley right beside us.

That afternoon we reached a small town, the buildings appearing on the destroyed horizon like broken teeth in a rotting mouth.

At the center of town we encountered a large, gated settlement. As we approached the front, we could see words painted on the front gate in drippy white letters: NO MUTANTS ALLOWED.

Charlie sighed and sat down on a rock. "I guess that means me."

I peered in disgust at the words, and at the guard standing at the gate. Dave and Smiley seemed unfazed.

"Want anything from inside?" Smiley asked Charlie.

"A beer," Charlie muttered, taking off his hat and fanning his face.

"You coming, Cherry?" Smiley asked.

"No, I'll wait out here, with Charlie."

"You don't need to to do that," Charlie said. "I'll be fine."

I looked at the Smiley and Dave. "I'll meet up with you, okay?"

They shrugged and headed for the settlement, leading BettyandBertha to the gate. The guard nodded to them and ushered them through. The gate closed behind them.

I sat in silence for a moment, trying to work up the courage for what I needed to say. I pulled out my notebook and began to sketch a flower growing out of the pavement. I took a deep breath, then said, "um, I need to tell you something. Smiley-"

"I figured it out already, but thanks for your concern," Charlie stated.

I set my notebook down. "I think there's been a misunderstanding. Smiley came on to me, but I turned him away," I said.

Charlie frowned. "You did?"

"Yes. I don't like him like that."

"Why not?"

I opened my mouth and then closed it again. Wasn't it obvious? "Because I like you."

Charlie's face twisted up in what looked like pain. "Why? Or maybe I should say, how? How could you possibly want a repulsive creature like me? Especially with Smiley ready, willing, and able?"

"Charlie... you deserve love just as much as anyone else."

"Oh," Charlie laughed humorlessly, folding his arms. "Here I thought maybe it was misguided gratitude, or maybe, _maybe_ , for my personality. But it's because you feel sorry for me? So you want to pity-fuck me? Excuse me if I'm not delighted," Charlie huffed.

"No, it's, well, maybe that was it in the beginning, but that isn't it at all now."

Charlie shook his head with a disgusted look on his face.

"It's not because I feel sorry for you, or because I'm grateful to you. I just want to fuck you because I like you. Why is that so hard to believe?" I realized I was shouting. I looked around and saw the guard at the gate staring at me with his mouth open. I turned and walked away, down the road, away from the settlement.

"Cherry!" I heard Charlie yell. "Where are you going?"

I didn't stop. I didn't look back. The street warped and doubled in my vision as hot tears ran down my face. I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand. I was glad I was only a few days away from Diamond City. I hoped I could make it on my own.

I walked through town, past department stores and restaurants. Suddenly, a bullet whined past my head, lodging into a dumpster on the other side of the street. I turned and looked up, seeing the silhouette of someone in an apartment building. Another shot whizzed past before I gathered enough sense to run. I ducked down an alley, weaving around buildings, until I came upon a derelict gas station. The windows were smashed, the ancient broken glass glittering in the sunlight. I crunched through it, peering in one of the windows, trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness. I didn't see any movement inside. I looked behind me; no one seemed to be chasing me, but I didn't want to wait around to find out.

The door swung open with a squeak. I shut it behind me. I sat on the floor for a few minutes, my heart beating fast, until I was sure no one was coming after me. The tiled floor in front of me was coated with dirt, and bags of two hundred year old chips littered the aisles. I got up and kicked past cans and broken bottles, looking around. Some of the bags of food and beverages looked intact. I gathered them up, wondering if there was a smaller room I could stay the night in.

I pushed open a bathroom door, and something large and brown chittered and flew out at me. I gasped, dropping my food and putting up my hands. The radroach hit me and fell to the ground. It's pincers poised, it fluttered its wings, ready to strike. I stomped on it back, and it's shell crunched beneath my foot. The radroach screamed and a white goo squirted out of the cracks of its shell. I stomped on it again. It was dead. I ran into the now empty bathroom and vomited in the sink.

When I was finished, I wiped my mouth and gathered up the now-unappetizing food, and hesitantly tried a different door, wishing I had a weapon. The open door revealed a stairway. I walked up the stairs, the metal echoing hollowly under my feet. At the top was a small room with a desk and a couch. There were, thankfully, no more radroaches. I dumped the food on the floor and dropped onto the couch. I was asleep in minutes.

I felt a hand on my arm and jolted awake. I balled up my hands, punching the darkness.

"Ow!" someone said. "Take it easy! You're gonna mess up my pretty face."

It was Smiley.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you. What are doing here?" I asked.

"Looking for you," Smiley said. "Charlie's been worried about you."

"Has he," I said suspiciously.

"Yes. And so was I."

"Me too," I heard Dave say from the darkness. "It's not safe for you on your own."

"I'm fine," I said to them. "You didn't need to come looking for me."

"What happened? Charlie said you guys had a fight or something," Smiley said.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said. "You guys should go."

"But..."

"Smiley, why don't you meet me downstairs. I'll talk to her," I heard Dave say.

"Why do you always get to talk to the ladies?" Smiley grumped.

"Because every time you open your big mouth, you screw something up," Dave replied.

"I can talk to ladies too," Smiley pouted, retreating out of the room.

Dave sat on the edge of the couch. He didn't say anything. We sat listening to Smiley's footsteps as they receded down the metal stairs.

"I told Charlie I liked him and he accused me of wanting to pity-fuck him," I said.

"Ouch," Dave replied.

"I thought he liked me," I said.

"He does. Trust me. But like I said before, he's afraid of getting hurt. And he has such low self-esteem that I think he has a hard time believing anyone would be interested in him. Smiley hitting on you didn't help his confidence either, I'm sure. But I think ghouls in general don't think anyone wants to be around them. That you're genuinely interested in him might be something that's too difficult for him to believe. I was hoping things would turn out differently for you two. Sorry, hun."

I nodded.

"But nothing else has changed. We still want to take you to Diamond City. And I don't know if any of us could live with ourselves if we left you out here and something happened to you. Charlie's downstairs. You don't have to come down now if you don't want to, but we're going to head out in the morning and we hope you'll be with us."

I sighed, "I'll come down. I'm being too sensitive about this."

"Well, what can you expect? How many relationships did you have on that farm?" Dave asked.

"None," I said.

"Uh-huh. And you finally get the chance to be attracted to someone for the first time, get up the courage to confess your feelings to them, and they reject you. How are you supposed to react?"

"I don't know."

"I've had my heart broken by men before too, hun. It hurts the same whether it's the first or the tenth," Dave said.

I stood up and followed Dave downstairs. Smiley was sitting on the counter by the cash register, eating some kind of candy. Charlie was sitting out back on the step. I walked outside and sat down next to him. We watched BettyandBertha feed on scrub growing out of the sidewalk. It was getting late, but not quite dark yet.

Charlie had something beside him. It was my notebook. I had forgotten all about it.

"You left this." He handed it to me. It was flipped open to a recent drawing I had done. I blushed when I saw it.

"This me?" Charlie asked.

I nodded and he said, "I thought you only drew beautiful things."

"...I do," I said, closing the notebook.

Charlie smiled, then his hairless eyebrows knitted together. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said."

"I'm sorry for causing a scene," I replied.

"Actually, that was kind of funny. Did you see the guard's face when you said you wanted to fuck me? Ha!"

"Heh, yeah. I bet it threw that bigoted bastard for a loop," I said, chuckling.

Charlie paused. "I really do like you, you know. And you don't know what it did to me to hear you say that you like me too. I want your affection. I do. Just do one thing for me - don't feel sorry for me. I've lived in this world for a long time, and it's hard, but I don't need your pity. Understand?"

"Yes," I said.

Charlie nodded. Then he slipped his hand into mine.

We sat that way for a while, watching the sky grow dark.

We headed out again in the morning, leaving the gas station and the little town behind us. The morning was cold, with gray clouds that hung low overhead. Bitter gusts of foul-smelling wind would hit us occasionally. Smiley was telling us an outrageous story that was most likely a lie, but I wasn't really paying attention.

There were more buildings on this stretch of road, mostly decrepit farm houses with windows caked in dust, black birds perched on their caved-in roofs. There were fields of stubbly weeds, and clusters of cars on the road, rusting into the earth.

Toward late afternoon, we walked past a large factory, seated at the end of a long gravel road. Nearby was a building with a metal roof and a huge silo, stretching into the gray sky.

"Think anyone lives there?" I asked.

Dave looked up from the Live and Love magazine he'd been reading. "No one we'd want to do business with."

"Probably raiders," Smiley said.

"Or super mutants," Dave added.

"Probably a good place to scav if you could kill whatever is in there," Charlie commented. "But I don't have a death wish."

The sky had grown darker, and the clouds were taking on a sickly, greenish glow.

"Uh-oh," I said, pulling my hood up against the wind, my black hair blowing across my face.

"We should find cover," Charlie said, holding down his hat with his hand. "We don't want to be out in this."

The factory seemed like a dangerous choice, so we chose an old farm house on the other side of the road. Birds screamed and took to the air as we hurried up the dirt road to the house. We passed a scraggly tree with a broken tire swing, the rope swinging in the growing wind. We made our way to the front door. All three men had their guns drawn.

"Just a minute," Charlie said. He pulled a knife out of a sheath at his waist and held it out to me.

"You never know what might be in there."

The door wasn't locked. Dave pushed it open slowly, the hinges creaking loudly. The greenish glow from outside cut a path through the dark, dusty living room. I could hear thunder in the distance.

We pulled BettyandBertha inside and shut the door. Dave and Smiley surveyed the living room and kitchen and informed us it was clear. Charlie and I stayed in the living room while the two guards checked upstairs. We heard gunfire from above. I grew tense and gripped the knife tighter.

There was a moaning sound from under the couch in the living room. A gnarled, bony hand reached out, pulling at the carpet. The ghoul pulled itself out from under the couch and bared its stinking, rotting maw. I gasped, and Charlie shot it in the neck.

The sound of the gunshot rang in my ears. I saw a hole in the ghoul's neck, but it wasn't dead. The bullet only seemed to infuriate it as it lunged across the room at me. I took Charlie's knife and stabbed it repeatedly as it clawed and gnashed and breathed its stinking breath, flecks of fetid saliva flying from its jaws.

Charlie hit it in the head with the butt of his gun, and it finally fell to the floor, its beady green eyes still staring up at us.

Charlie pulled me up and put an arm around me. "You okay?"

"Yes," I said.

A loud bang made me grip Charlie tighter in alarm. He smiled. "It's just the thunder."

"I thought it was more gunshots," I said sheepishly.

"Let's get this thing out of here," he said.

I helped him drag the ghoul out the front door.

Thunder crashed again and the brahmin lowed pitifully, her four eyes rolling wildly in her pink faces. Charlie patted her heads and whispered to her.

"Shhh, girl. It's okay. Just a little thunder. We've been through this before."

I heard footsteps on the stairs. Dave and Smiley walked down, their guns holstered. "All clear upstairs now," Dave said. "Couple of ferals, but we killed 'em and dumped 'em out a window."

"We should stay here tonight," Smiley said. "There are real beds up there!"

Charlie nodded. "There isn't much to during a radstorm except wait for it to blow over, so that sounds fine to me."

We unpacked BettyandBertha, then went upstairs to assess the rooms. Despite the dilapidated appearance of the outside of the house, the bedrooms were quite charming. Each bed had a hand-stitched quilt, tucked neatly under the mattress. Pillows with decorative cases sat on top. Several of the rooms had groups of ceramic dolls on shelves, all of them coated in a thick layer of dust. Smiley suggested we take them all down because they creeped him out.

"So who gets the room with the big bed?" Smiley asked. He raised his hand. "I vote me."

Dave elbowed him in the ribs. "I think Cherry should take it."

Smiley gasped. "Right, that's what I meant to say..."

The big bedroom had an ornate vanity with a large round mirror. There were baskets on the floor filled with teddy bears and more dolls. I cut a trail through the dust on the vanity, trying to imagine who had lived here before the war. I pictured a nice old grandmother, her beds always made up for when her grandkids came to visit, and fresh-baked cookies always on hand.

I said goodnight to the others and disrobed in the bedroom, laying on the bed, staring at the candlelight dancing on the ceiling. I listened to the thunder outside. Every time the lightning crashed, I felt a little nauseous from the radiation.

I thought about what it would be like to finally see Diamond City. I didn't have much of a frame of reference. I had seen pictures of pre-war cities, with buildings full of glass windows that stretched into the sky, the streets filled with yellow cars, and masses of people walking along the sidewalks. I thought Diamond City would be more like my farm, but bigger. Maybe with the buildings built closer together. And 'The Wall,' wrapping around it.

I heard footsteps in the hallway, the floorboards creaking. They stopped at my door. I sat up, expecting a knock. I heard nothing, but could tell someone was still there because their feet blocked out the light from under the door. After a moment, the footsteps resumed, heading away.

I pulled on my shirt and opened the door, peering down the hallway.

"Charlie?"

Charlie stopped, his bald head and bare, muscular back illuminated in green glow of the radstorm.

"Were you going to knock on my door?" I asked.

Charlie turned around. "Yes."

"Why didn't you?"

Charlie walked into the doorway. "I... You don't want a disgusting ghoul like me. You can't."

"Do I need to prove it to you?" I asked. He looked at me uncertainly, and then I leaned in and kissed him, my heart pounding. He wrapped his arms around me, kissing me back.

I pulled away. "Proof enough?"

"I... think I might need a bit more convincing," he said, grinning.

I took his hand and pulled him into the bedroom, shutting the door. I sat down on the bed, and he sat next to me. He looked at me, then down at the floor. He laughed. "Look at me. Two hundred and fifty-three years old and nervous as hell being in a bedroom with a woman."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm nervous too," I replied.

"Why, because I'm a ghoul?"

"No. Because… I've never…"

"Oh God," Charlie said, rubbing his face. "Now I'm _really_ going to lose my nerve."

I looked into his blue eyes. "You're fine. Me and you in this bedroom - whatever happens - it will be fine."

He looked down at the quilt. "You know, no one has ever looked at me the way you do. At least, not since I turned ghoul. I've been with women since then, but even then they don't want to look me in the eye."

"I like looking at you," I said. I leaned in and kissed him again. He pushed me gently back onto the bed and looked at me. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes," I said. "I want you."


	5. Chapter 5

Morning light streamed through the filthy window, bright and warm - a welcome alternative to the sick green storm from the night before. I rolled over. The other side of the bed was empty. My brain tried to tell me everything during the night had been a dream, but I knew it wasn't.

I put on my dusty clothes and walked downstairs, pulling my hair into a long braid.

Dave, Smiley and Charlie were in the kitchen, leaning on the countertops and eating fried Cram.

"Morning," Charlie said, grinning.

"Good morning."

"Breakfast?" Charlie handed me a plate.

"Thanks," I said, smiling at him. I glanced over at Smiley. His face was red, and he looked like was about to explode.

I took a bite of meat and Smiley shouted, " _Really,_ Cherry? _Charlie_? You turned me down for _Charlie_?"

Dave smacked Smiley in the back of the head. "What did I _just_ get done telling you?"

Smiley folded his arms and muttered, "you weren't going to pay for my next whore anyway…"

"I was too," Dave said. "But you blew it."

Smiley walked over to BettyandBertha, patting her head. "And that damn squeaking bed. Did you guys even sleep? That was driving me nuts. I had to sleep down here with BettyandBertha."

"Don't mind him. He's just jealous," Dave said.

"Damn right I am," Smiley pouted. "The ghoul gets the pretty one, and I'm stuck hanging out with the brahmin."

"Aw, BettyandBertha is pretty too, aren't ya, girl," I said, patting one of her big pink heads.

The brahmin stuck out a huge, slobbery tongue and tried to lick Smiley. Everyone laughed but Smiley. He stood up and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

"He'll be fine once we get to Diamond City. Too long on the road makes anyone cranky," Dave said. "I know I'm ready for some 'R' and 'R.'"

"Speaking of which, Cherry, can I talk to you for a moment?" Charlie asked.

"Of course."

"I'm, uh, going to go upstairs and see if there's anything worth taking," Dave said, patting me on the shoulder as he walked by.

After Dave walked upstairs, Charlie said, "Do you...still want to go to Diamond City? For good, I mean?"

I paused. "Well, honestly-"

"Because I'll understand if you do. I was just kind of hoping…"

"I want to stay with you," I stated.

"You do?" Charlie looked surprised.

"Well, yes. Especially now that we've, uh-"

"Practically broken a bed together?" Charlie said, with a devilish grin.

"That's not what I was going to say, but yes. That. It's just that Dave said you weren't looking for a relationship, so I thought you still planned on dropping me off," I replied.

"It's not that I don't _want_ a relationship; I do, very much. I just couldn't get one. And it wasn't for lack of trying, but, well, you know _why_ I couldn't get one-" He paused and squinted at me. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" I asked.

"Feeling sorry for me. I know you are. I can see it in your face."

I bit my lower lip. He was right. That's exactly what I had been doing. But I frowned and said, "I am not. Why should I feel sorry for you? You've got me now."

He chuckled. "That's exactly right. So you're staying with us for the near future?"

"Yes. Definitely." I leaned in and kissed him. He put his arms around me, pulling me in tight. I think we would have gotten carried away, had Smiley not walked in.

"Aw, gross, man. Do you _have_ to do that while I'm around?"

"I think it's cute," Dave said, walking down the stairs.

Charlie let go of me. "Alright you two, I don't pay you for your commentary. Let's get out of here."

We left the farmhouse and headed out into the crumbling ruin of a road. The morning was cool and sunny, and the sky a bright blue disk above the broken world. I breathed in the air and smiled. I had never felt happier. Everything seemed beautiful today. But it wasn't long before I forgot about the morning and my thoughts turned to night. I wondered if there would be another bed for Charlie and I to share.

After a while we passed under a large, wrecked highway. I craned my neck upward, peering at the twisted girders and crumbling concrete. Cars hung precariously from the edges of the broken road. Below the highway was a dirty little stream, weaving its way toward buildings off in the distance. We stopped and Charlie filled three plastic jugs with water. I could see sediment and plant particles floating inside the jugs.

"We'll boil it and filter it later," Charlie said. As he was loading the jugs onto BettyandBertha, we heard a loud clicking noise. All three men pulled their guns and trained them toward the sound.

"What is that?" I whispered.

"Mirelurks," Smiley said. "You'd better back up. They can snip a person's arm clean off."

I felt adrenaline surge through me as I backed away, trying to pull BettyandBertha along with me. I saw a round hump emerge from behind a huge chunk of concrete. The thing looked sort of like a crab, with a tiny, insectoid face and large, armored pincers. It scuttled toward the men, it's claws clicking.

Dave opened fire, followed by Charlie and Smiley.

"Hit its face!" Smiley shouted.

The gunfire pushed the mirelurk back, but it wasn't dead. It lunged forward, snapping its claws. BettyandBertha was jerking at her lead. I was trying to tie it around a metal pylon, but was hard because she kept tugging.

There were more gunshots. I looked up. The mirelurk lay dead in the water, but there was movement from behind the men.

"Dave, behind you!" I screamed.

Dave turned in time to face the second Mirelurk just as it was swiping at him. It hit him in the chest and knocked him into the bank of the stream. Charlie and Smiley fired at it. Bullets ricocheted off the shell of the monstrosity as it swung its claws at Dave again, hitting him as he shot it in the face. The thing screamed and fell back into the water. I ran down the bank to Dave. There was blood in the water and Dave had a hand to his arm.

"Oh my God," I breathed as Smiley and Charlie helped him up. Blood was running between the fingers clutching his arm, and there was a huge gash in his leather chestplate.

Charlie looked up at me. "Cherry, there is a bag of medical supplies on BettyandBertha. It's a white bag with drawstring top. Hurry."

I ran back up the bank to the brahmin; she was still jerking at her lead. I was glad I was able to tie her up in time. I pushed through the numerous bags and objects, looking for the bag. I had seen it before, and remembered what it looked like, but there were so many packs to sort through. I pushed up the sleeping bags and found it tucked underneath. I unhooked it and ran back down the bank.

Charlie had taken off his shirt and pressed it against Dave's arm. It was already soaked with blood. He gestured for me to pass the bag to Smiley. I did so and Smiley rummaged through, pulling out a Stimpak. He took the cap off the needle, and then inserted it into Dave's arm above the wound. He pushed on the Stimpak and I heard a rushing sound as the red medicine inside was injected into Dave's arm. Smiley threw the empty Stimpak into the water and pulled some white cloths from the medical bag. He pressed them against Charlie's blood-soaked shirt, then tied them to Dave's arm with more strips of cloth. I knew the Stimpak would help Dave's wound heal much quicker, and get rid of any infection that could start, but it would take time, and without the extra bandages, he could bleed to death in the meantime.

"I think that thing cracked a rib," Dave groaned, holding his arm. "Hurts to breath."

"Can you make it to Bunker Hill?" Charlie asked.

Dave nodded, his eyes squeezed shut. "Don't supposed I can dip into the whiskey?"

"Sorry," Charlie said, helping him up the bank. "Thins the blood. I don't think that would be a good idea right now."

Smiley untied BettyandBertha and replaced the medical bag. We walked back toward the road slowly.

"How far is Bunker Hill?" I asked.

"See that big monument off in the distance? Looks like a big pillar going up into the sky? That's it," Charlie said, gesturing with his chin as he pulled a new shirt out of a bag and put it on.

Dave groaned again. He was pale, and locks of hair had fallen out of his ponytail into his face.

"Oh, suck it up you big baby," Smiley said, but there was fear in his eyes.

"Once I feel better I'm going to kick your ass," Dave said, giving a pained grin.

We eventually reached the large gate of Bunker Hill. A woman ran down to us.

"Charlie, what happened?"

"Mirelurks," Charlie stated grimly.

"Does he need to see Kay?" the woman asked.

"We gave him a Stimpak but that's probably a good idea."

We helped Dave up the stone steps, past the gate and into the settlement, pulling BettyandBertha along with us. There were string lights hanging across the space between buildings, and a huge stone obelisk rose out of the middle of the settlement. We helped Dave reach a woman that I assumed was the town doctor. He sat down in a chair, panting.

"Have you given him anything?" the woman asked.

"A Stimpak," Charlie said.

The woman nodded. "I'll see if he needs any sutures, and put a new dressing on his wound. We're going to need to take that armor off and check your chest too," she said, turning to Dave.

Smiley looked at Charlie. "I can stay here with him if you want to go unpack. We'll meet you in rooms in a bit."

Charlie nodded, then patted Dave on the shoulder. "We'll see you in a bit."

We turned to go and Dave called my name. I walked over to him. "Thanks for warning me about that mirelurk. I'd rather have broken ribs than be paralysed."

"Of course," I said. "I just wish I saw it sooner." I gingerly gave Dave a hug. "I hope you're better soon."

Charlie and I led the brahmin to the other side of town. I helped him unload the packs on BettyandBertha's back, and he tied her up in a stall next to two other brahmin. We hauled the packs up the stairs of an apartment building.

"This is a hotel of sorts for caravans that come through town. We always stay on floor three," Charlie explained.

We walked across the holey, stained red carpet in the hallway of floor three, stopping at a door at the end of the hall. Charlie produced a keyring and unlocked the door. We deposited the packs in the corner of the room.

Charlie flopped onto the bed, sighing. He grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled me down on top of him, putting his arms around me. I laid there, with my face pressed into his chest. I could hear his heart beating. I wondered if it bore the same scars as his skin.

"I really like you, Charlie," I said.

Charlie kissed my head. "I really like you too."

"We have this place all to ourselves right now, but all I can think about is Dave," I said.

"Yeah, me too. He'll be all right though. This sort of thing happens from time to time in a caravan. Not as much to me, since I pay Dave and Smiley to protect me, but we've all used our fair share of Stimpaks over the years." He grinned at me. "Did you notice my Deathclaw scar yesterday?"

"No. You have a Deathclaw scar?" I said in awe.

Charlie removed his arm from around me and unbuckled his pants. He pulled them down and said, "see?"

Despite his thigh being riddled with radiation scars, I knew which one he was talking about. It was a series of three long raised gashes, running across his inner thigh. I traced the white scars with my fingers.

"Wow."

"I was lucky I didn't die from this one. There just happened to be some standing water nearby that was high in radiation. Dave carried me to it and I sat in it for a bit, until my wounds had clotted. It still took quite a while for them heal, but I'm sure I would have bled out if that radiated water hadn't been nearby."

"Ghouls are healed by radiation?" I asked.

"Yes. One of the few perks of being one."

"What happened to the Deathclaw?"

"Oh, we killed it. Had I had room on BettyandBertha I would have taken its head and mounted it on a damn wall somewhere," Charlie replied.

"Hmm, I don't think I have any scars to show you. At least, not impressive ones like that," I said.

"Oh no? Want me to check?" Charlie said, smirking.

A little later there was a knock. Charlie looked through the peephole and then opened the door. Smiley was standing in the hall.

"Hey, what took you so long?"

"Well, after Dave got patched up he talked me into taking him to the bar for some shots," Smiley said sheepishly. "He's asleep in the next room. I thought maybe you guys would want to join me back at the bar."

"Sure, a drink sounds good," Charlie said. "What do you think, Cherry?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, although it seemed to me that Smiley had already had his fair share of alcohol for the day.

I turned to the grimy, spotted mirror hanging on the wall and looked at myself. I smoothed out the new green dress I was wearing (Dave had found it for me in the farmhouse we stayed at), and then headed out the door with them. We could hear Dave snoring loudly from the next room. We descended the stairs and left the apartment building.

"I hope there are still some ladies at the bar," Smiley said, rubbing his hands together. "Since you stole _Cherry_. I was _this close_ to nabbing her too." Smiley held his fingers to Charlie's face.

"Whatever," I said.

"Even if that were the case, which it isn't, I don't feel sorry for you. How many conquests have you had since we've been working together?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, wow, I don't know. I wasn't keeping track."

"Exactly. Know how many I've had?"

"Um, two?" Smiley guessed.

"It's three, thank you very much, but you see my point," Charlie said.

"But she's so pretty! It's not fair."

"Oh, so you're saying I don't deserve a pretty woman? I should save them for you and if I find an ugly one I can have her?" Charlie asked accusingly.

"Hey, I didn't say that, but-"

"If you guys are going to talk about me like I'm not here, I think I'm going to go look around for bit," I said.

"Sorry," Charlie said. "He gets obnoxious when he's been drinking. I'll have a drink or two and come find you. Then we can leave Smiley to his, apparently, much needed conquests."

Smiley nodded smugly and then tripped on a curb. Charlie steadied him and they walked off toward the bar.

I wandered through the town, admiring the ancient crumbling architecture. Then I heard a voice whispering my name. I stopped and looked around. Someone was beckoning to me from an alley. I hesitantly drew closer, wondering who could possibly know my name here. Then I grew cold. A scrawny, buck-toothed man peered out at me.

" _Ted_? What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"Thank Atom we finally got you alone. Let's get out of here," Ted said.

"What? I'm not going anywhere with you. You followed me this whole way?" I asked, disgusted.

"Yeah! When we discovered you was kidnapped, we started tracking you. We lost you for a while after you tried to escape, and by the time we found you again that ghoul and his guards had gotten to you first. This is the first time we've seen you alone. Let's go!"

"Who's we?" I asked.

"Me 'n' Jake." Ted grabbed my arm and pulled me into the alley.

"Ted, get _off_ of me!" I shouted. I tried to pull away but his grip was too strong. Jake emerged from around the corner. He walked up to me and said, "oh Cherry, I'm so glad we found you. And I am so sorry for everything that's happened to you. The depraved things that - _ghoul_ \- made you do... But it's all over now. We're gonna take you back to the farm, and everything's gonna be back to normal. Doris is even makin' you a new blanket for yer bed."

I shook my head in disbelief. "You guys have it all wrong. I wasn't kidnapped. No one forced me to do anything against my will. I left because I hated that farm and the way you guys treated me. And that _ghoul_? He's treated me better than anyone ever has. I really like him. I might even be in love with him," I said. I wasn't sure that was true - at least, not yet - but I couldn't resist saying it. "I'm really sorry you guys came all this way. I didn't expect anyone to care. But I'm happy for the first time in my life, and I'm not leaving with you."

"Yer in love with a ghoul? That's disgusting!" Ted exclaimed.

Jake's face was red and his whole body was shaking. I scowled and turned to leave. I felt a hand grab hold of the back of my head and pull. I shrieked as Jake pulled me back into the alley. His red, seething face moved in front of mine and he said in a quivering voice, "I was gonna be so happy to tell Doris we rescued you. Now I'm gonna have to tell her I had to beat some sense into you!"

"No!" I screamed. I beat at Jake's arm and tried to pull away, but his grip on my hair was too strong. He dragged me kicking and screaming through the alley.

Ted pulled out some duct tape and tore off a strip. He put it over my mouth and said, "that ought to shut you up you disgusting girl. To think I ever liked you."

I didn't want to let go of Jake's arm because my head hurt so bad where he was pulling my hair, but I needed to get that duct tape off. I let go and ripped the duct tape off my mouth.

" _Charlie_!" I screamed. I jerked my head away and felt my hair rip from my head.

Jake stopped, looking at the hair in his hand, and then lunged at me. I ran as fast as I possibly could, in the direction of the bar. A hand grabbed the back of my dress, jerking me backward. I fell to the ground.

" _Charlie_!" I screamed again.

Two men came running up. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I'm her dad and I'm taking her home," Jake stated.

"You're not my father!" I screamed, tears running down my face. "And I'm not going with you!"

"Hey, you came with Charlie's caravan, right?" one of the men asked.

"Yes, will you please get him? He's at the bar," I said, crying.

"Of course. Don't you two dare go anywhere with her until we figure out what's going on," the man said. He turned to run toward the bar, only to run into Charlie and Smiley, along with quite a few other people.

Charlie ran over to me and pulled me up.

"How dare you touch my daughter you filthy monster!" Jake exclaimed.

"I'm not your daughter!" I shouted.

I had never seen such fury in Charlie's face. "You think I'm a monster? I wasn't one before but I am now!" He lunged at Jake, wrapping his hands around his throat.

People were shouting and trying to pull the two men apart. Jake's face was turning a deep red. "Let him go, Charlie!" I said, pulling on his shoulder. The crowd was finally able to separate them, several men holding Charlie and Jake back.

"What the hell is this about?" An older man in a black hat said, stepping out of crowd.

Jake was coughing and holding his throat. "This girl is mine. She may not be my daughter through blood but I brought her up and she belongs back on my farm. After I teach her some sense, that is. Out here fornicatin' with a damn mutie! Absolutely disgusting," Jake said, coughing again. "I can't believe you people actually let his kind in here."

"I'm a grown woman and I'm not your property, Jake! I can do whatever I want," I said.

"Charlie has been coming to our town for years now and I consider him a respectable person. That's right, I said person. And this woman clearly doesn't want to leave with you. So I suggest you and your friend leave, now, before things turn ugly. And don't come back," the older man said.

I didn't watch Jake and Ted leave. My face was buried in Charlie's shoulder as I cried.

"Damn hillbillies," I heard Smiley sneer. "We'd better not cross paths out in the wastes or I'm going to make you dig your own graves!"

"Let's go back up to our room," Charlie said.

I nodded, wiping my face. I walked in the direction of the apartment building, Charlie and Smiley on either side of me. When we reached floor three, Smiley turned to go into his room. He stopped and turned to us. "I don't think Dave would be much help tonight, but if those hillbillies come back, you holler and I'll be there."

"Thanks, Smiley," I said.

"I think Old Man Stockton ran them off, but if not, bring your gun," Charlie said.

We walked past Dave's room and entered ours, locking the door behind us. I sat on the bed and Charlie sat next to me.

"Are you okay?"

I shook my head. "They actually came to 'rescue' me. For a second I thought Jake actually cared about me. Then I told them what really happened, and how I felt about you, and he went into a rage."

"Why did you tell them how you felt about me? You know how they feel about ghouls," Charlie said.

"Part of me wanted them to understand that you were a good person, not some gross monster like they thought. But the other part of me knew they wouldn't get it. I knew what I said would piss Jake off, but I didn't think he would react like that."

I dropped my head into Charlie's lap.

"Oh, Cherry. Your _hair_."

I sat up, feeling the back of my head. There was huge bald spot where Jake had pulled out my hair. Charlie looked like he was waiting for me to have a meltdown.

My long hair. Ripped right out of my head. My hair I'd had all my life. It was farm girl hair, I realized. I was no longer a farm girl. Tonight more than any other night made me realize that. When Ted and Jake, these ghosts of my former life, tried to take me back to that farm, it felt like I was being dragged into the pits of Hell.

I turned to Charlie. "You got some scissors?"

I stood in front of the mirror again. It was early morning. I was admiring my new haircut. I turned my head from side to side, looking at the shaved sides and choppy crown. My head felt so light without all that hair to burden me.

I had found more than scissors in Charlie's bags. As I drew eyeliner onto my other eye, I said, "How come you never told me you had this stuff?"

"I didn't think to tell you. You're beautiful enough as it is without makeup. I don't think it's necessary," Charlie said.

I could see him in the mirror, standing in the bathroom and toweling off. I smiled and applied my newly commandeered red lipstick. I turned to look at him. His eyes widened.

"Wow. I take it back. You can have all the makeup I find."

I turned back to the mirror, putting the lid back on the lipstick.

"Charlie, will you teach me to use a gun?"

"Sure. That would probably be a good idea, especially now that we're getting deeper into Boston," Charlie said.

There was a knock on the door, so I walked over and opened it. Smiley stood in front of me; he had a very confused look on his face.

"Um, who the- wait. _Cherry_? Holy makeover!"

"What's up?" Dave said, leaning into the door frame. He saw me and said, "wow, beautiful, girlfriend! Who gave you that mohawk?"

"I did," I said, letting them into the room.

"Man, you sure don't look like an innocent farm girl anymore," Smiley said. "That the idea?"

"Something like that," I said.

"Well, it's hot."

I turned to Dave. "How are you doing today?"

"Much better," Dave said. "Check it out." He lifted the bandage on his arm. The wound was closed and looked well on its way to healing up completely. "I'm sore, and there's a bit of a bruise on my chest still, but I'll be in fighting shape in no time. Thank Atom for those Stimpaks, huh?"

"Definitely," I said.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened last night. I wish I could have helped, but even if I wasn't passed out, I wouldn't have been able to do much but swear at them," Dave said.

"That's okay. Charlie tried to choke Jake to death, and then the bystanders ran him and Ted out of town," I said.

"I'm sorry I missed it."

Charlie came out of the bathroom, pulling on his shirt. "You guys want to eat at that new diner in town for breakfast?"

"Yeah!" Smiley said. "I'm sick of Pork 'N' Beans and Cram."

"Agreed," Dave said.

Charlie pulled on his boots, and then took my hand. We walked out the door.

Epilogue

I sat in the diner booth next to Charlie, thinking about our breakfast with Dave and Smiley in that other diner so long ago. Thinking about that first week away from my farm, falling for Charlie, getting into strange and scary situations for the first time, and finally coming into my own.

I looked at Charlie and smiled. He lifted my hand and kissed the back with his lipless mouth.

The waitress walked over. "You two are so cute. I see you in here all the time and you just look perfect together. Like you were meant for each other," she said.

"It's funny that you would say that," I said in my scratchy voice, "because for the first few years we were together, I wasn't even a ghoul yet."


End file.
